Ooops — strike '2012' off your Oscars best-picture list
Since part of an Oscar pundit's job is to jump off cliffs, bravely and spectacularly, we salute New York Post film critic Lou Lumenick for daring to forecast a best-picture nomination for "2012," the upcoming apocalypse thriller from Roland Emmerich, director of "The Day After Tomorrow," "Godzilla" and "Independence Day." One of the chief reasons the academy expanded its best-picture list to 10 nominees from five was to include big popcorn pix that used to get nommed in the good ole days ("The Towering Inferno," "Jaws") but now are slighted. Unfortunately, alas, it looks like poor Lou will go splat against the Oscar rocks, according to Variety's gloomy review of "2012."
The trade paper predicts the doomsday thriller will strike lots of ticket gold: "This simultaneously spectacular and risible concoction looks likely to trigger a worldwide B.O. tsunami for Sony." But don't expect much academy gold: "On any level other than as sheer visual sensation, '2012' is a joke, for the simple reason that it has no point of view; the film offers no philosophical, metaphysical, intellectual and certainly no religious perspective on the cataclysm, just the physical frenzy of it all."
But, hey, "2012" does possess an "eye-popping display of movie pyrotechnics," says Variety. So it's not really the end of the Oscar world for the flick. Maybe it can still find salvation is some tech categories like sound editing and viz effects, saving Lumenick a bit on Oscar night too.
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I was looking forward to more geological insight around the world, its to bad these film makers seem to think no one knows geography! Guess I forgot that the world revolves around California, and the US. Also what is with the B.S love triangle/focus on the stupid blonde saving her dog, we just watched 30 million people die in California alone in this movie but we can't watch the surgically enhanced blonde and her stupid dog die...WTF.
Posted by: dgl | November 16, 2009 at 09:37 AM
2012 has impressive special effects but a laughable conceit - there is no way in real DC that a mid-level geologist would have had the influence that he did in the movie, even if we suspended our disbelief with the science. While the movie is a nice thrill ride, its attempt to be inspirational ends up disgustingly saccharine and sanctimonious. A fun but generally stupid movie.
Posted by: Steve | November 14, 2009 at 09:55 AM
Poor Bill!! The industry is FORCING him to watch movies against his will!
By the way, Woodstock Universe is a great site, thanks for posting.
Posted by: Barefoot Dave | November 13, 2009 at 03:07 AM
As long as people (namely young people, and those rather pathetic adults who like movies that cater to 12-year-olds with ADD) keep on buying tickets to these superficial, meaningless movies, Hollywood's going to keep on making them.
Posted by: mykalroze | November 12, 2009 at 10:46 PM
I'll bet 2012 gets a nod for best song. But even Adam Lambert can't get me to go see the movie.
Posted by: Lisa | November 12, 2009 at 03:24 PM
"Force you to watch"? Uh... no: nobody is forcing you to do anything. Vote with your dollars like a good little consumer. I haven't been to a movie since the execrable "Black Dahlia": The movie was expensively made yet stunk big-time and the kids who comprised the audience were rude and take calls all night. Easy solution: Don't go to the movies, and don't let your kids go either. Just watch what will happen.
Posted by: A.R. Kane | November 12, 2009 at 10:21 AM
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Peace, love, music, one world,
RFWoodstock
Posted by: RFWoodstock | November 12, 2009 at 09:37 AM
Don't you EVER compare the ikes of '2012' with any of Spielberg's masterpieces. And 'Jaws' has a lot more going for it thematically than just popcorn appeal.
Posted by: Proman | November 12, 2009 at 08:31 AM
"2012: Time for Change"
projects a radical alternative to apocalyptic doom and gloom. Directed by Emmy Award nominee Joao Amorim, the film follows journalist Daniel Pinchbeck, author of the bestselling 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, on a quest for a new paradigm that integrates the archaic wisdom of tribal cultures with the scientific method. As conscious agents of evolution, we can redesign post-industrial society on ecological principles to make a world that works for all. Rather than breakdown and barbarism, 2012 will herald the birth of a regenerative planetary culture, where collaboration replaces competition, where exploration of psyche and spirit becomes the new cutting edge, replacing the sterile materialism that has pushed our world to the brink.
Interviews with design scientists, anthropologists, physicists such as Dean Radin, Barbara Marx Hubbard, John Todd and Paul Stamets and celebrities such as Sting, Ellen Page and Gilberto Gil.
http://www.2012timeforchange.com/
Posted by: Etznab | November 12, 2009 at 08:11 AM
What's wrong with the occassional popcorn munching, escapist fx film? I love indie films, but I'm looking forward to 2012 for the same reason I enjoy roller coasters _ I know where it's going, I enjoy the view, and I love the ride.
Posted by: Hector | November 12, 2009 at 07:51 AM
2012 is just another disaster end of the world flick for the consumption of young viewers. It's all about special effects and that's about it. How many of these brain dead films is this industry going to force us to watch.
Posted by: Bill McGowan | November 12, 2009 at 03:00 AM